Pack the Place

This is the cottage and gardens at Bidawee in the UK. It's a public garden located on an old sandstone quarry.

Located on 2 acres, it has been in existence for 26 years.
These photos are from an article on Dave's Gardens by Sue Taylor.

www.bidawee.co.uk

"No one ever said gardening was easy" - unless you have a staff of hundreds - which I'm betting doesn't apply to my readers - in that case "no one ever said gardening doesn't take thousands of dollars" and if that's not you either "no one said gardening didn't take a lot of work!"

As you can see from the Bidawee Gardens photos, their English garden planting mode of operation is to pack plants very tightly for a lush look. Where you might think packing plants tightly eliminates weeds (and it does help), it also takes a lot of maintenance to keep plants in check.

Thin out the bullies and pinch back the reach-for-the-moon types. Keep the walks clear from spreading invasions. Manage the turf grass without killing the flowers.

You may also notice they have good bones, IE: evergreens, stone structures, paths, little scenic hide-a-ways, abundant color and texture.

The more casual the look, the more labor intensive. But, don't be misled, casual doesn't mean accidental. Everything in this garden is there for a reason and put there on purpose.

There are people who find English gardens too chaotic for their taste. While the English garden has purposeful structure, it seldom has formal symmetry - something some gardeners need.

I appreciate both, but I find in my own garden I gravitate to the more informal. It's probably from living in a home where the shrubs had to be trimmed every few weeks to be neat and tidy. Something I vowed never to revisit.

I do appreciate beautifully trimmed hedges, such as the row at a farm house on Route 17 leaving Galva IL, on the right. As for me, I will simply enjoy that person's work and the fact that he does it without me.

A word of advice: Make sure the plants you use to pack the place are not invasive or you will forever hate the day you brought them into the bed. Make sure you understand the exact height and width the plant will achieve when mature and how often it must be divided to maintain the look.

Today is a beautiful day, the birds are building nests and keeping up quite a chatter this morning. I've seen a Brown Thrasher building in my honeysuckle and a little wren inspecting a hanging pot.

From the artist who captured an English garden better than anyone:

"What I need most of all are flowers, always, always."

- Claude Monet, 1840-1926, Impressionist painter and life-long gardener

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Mark you calendars:

14th Annual Glorious Garden Festival in Bloomington-Normal IL

Jun. 18 & 19, 2010 - 18th 1-8 p.m., 19th 9 a.m. -5 p.m.

David Davis Mansion, 1000 Monroe Drive, Bloomington, IL 61701 309.828.1084

Take a self-guided tour through at least 10 of the most beautiful, private gardens in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

Cost: $12/adult; $7/child in advance; $15/adult; $7/child day of event. Event Type: Family Friendly